Elementary Teacher of the Year Finalist

Ashley East – Action-Based Learning Teacher, Blue Ridge-Briargate Elementary

Ashley East, a K-5 Action-Based Learning Teacher at Blue Ridge – Briargate Elementary.

Ashley East's journey to education began with what she thought was a relative trying to help her sharpen her reading skills when she was a child. She would read letters and important documents to her uncle. Then one day she learned the truth. She was reading to him out of necessity. He was illiterate. He told her, “If only I had learned to read when I was your age, the world would have been much bigger for me.”

East's uncle’s words struck her deeply. She realized the power and opportunities that knowledge brings. Her desire to be an educator deepened further when she worked at the neighborhood center where her grandmother was the director.

East says her grandmother showed her the importance of making sure every student knows their worth and the possibilities their futures hold. She says a child’s success is not only measured in grades but also in their ability to overcome obstacles, develop a growth mindset and recognize their potential.

Elementary Teacher of the Year Finalist

Margaret Steinert, Kindergarten Teacher, Commonwealth Elementary 

Margaret Steinert is a proud Fort Bend ISD alum who attended Settlers Way Elementary, First Colony Middle School and Dulles High School. She says at Dulles there was a young man who used to tutor her in math and later in life became her husband.

Steinert is in her 14^th year as a teacher and her 11^th year as a kindergarten educator. She believes in old-school tools like big books, letter stamps, decoding book bags and “writing the room” - which is a scavenger hunt to teach literacy fundamentals to little learners.

Steinert also believes in celebrating the big wins in her classroom. She said, “Every single time a student embodies a Profile of a Graduate, or truly displays grit, integrity or rigor, the class places a gem in their gem jar. And when the jar fills up, the whole class celebrates.” 

She believes the teachers who truly love us never leave our hearts, and likes to remind her students no matter where they go, what they do or how old they get, she will always be their kindergarten teacher. 

Elementary Teacher of the Year Finalist

Keon Addai –  2nd Grade Teacher, Ridgegate Elementary

Keon Addai comes from a family of educators, specifically a mother who would be enthusiastically approached by former students every time she made a trip to the local store.

Addai says former students of all ages would see her mom and launch into a lengthy conversation and remembers thinking, ‘How do they even remember all this stuff about her?’ To which her mother would remind her, “People never forget how you treat them. I treated all my students like I treat you guys --like family.”

That is the philosophy and the legacy Addai continues to this day in her second-grade classroom. Her students know they are part of a family – they belong. They know they have great value and they work together as a team for the greater good.

Elementary Teacher of the Year Finalist

Yancy Aguilera – First Grade Teacher, Ridgemont Elementary

Yancy Aguilera was a student at Ridgemont Elementary. She says it is truly a privilege and an honor to be able to teach in a community that holds such deep personal meaning to her. Her roots on the campus run deep. She also used to volunteer there, and worked as a clerk and a paraprofessional. Working at the campus made her realize her true calling to be a teacher.

Aguilera's deeply rooted pride as a product of Fort Bend ISD and the community where she now teaches, fuels her commitment to uphold the values that shaped her including integrity, empathy and an unshakable dedication to student success.

Aguilera strives every day to create a classroom environment where her students blossom –intellectually, emotionally and socially.

Elementary Teacher of the Year Finalist

Dana Keen – Campus Literacy Interventionist, Seguin Elementary

Dana Keen is a 23-year veteran in the classroom. Childhood hardships led her to become an educator. She was raised by a single mom who worked multiple jobs to support her family and that left her with the job of being mom to her younger sister. She cooked, cleaned and got them both up and out the door to school every morning.

Keen was bullied at school and there came a point when she felt overwhelmed and defeated. But in 8^th grade, her math teacher Ms. Donovan became a beacon of hope. Donovan showed her love and compassion, worked with her to fill educational gaps, taught her life skills and gave her tactics and confidence to stand up to bullying.

Keen graduated from high school and went to college. She became an overcomer and high achiever and was majoring in medicine. But she was drawn to education and switched majors so she could become a Ms. Donovan for others.

Keen makes a point of embracing all new students with open arms and teaches them no matter what knocks you down in life, you can always choose to get up again.

Secondary Teacher of the Year Finalist

Angela Marie Stanley - 8th Grade Math Teacher, Crockett Middle School

Angela Stanley became a teacher because she began to feel disconnected in middle school from what she was being taught and wanted to know, “what does this have to do with real life?”

Even at that young age, she made up her mind to become the kind of teacher she wished she had – one who knew how to support students and break down the “why” so that lessons were more meaningful.

That’s what she does in her classroom -- breaking down each lesson into manageable steps, not just showing students how to solve a math problem but teaching them why each step is necessary and how it builds on the next.

Stanley maintains high expectations for her students and gives them the support they need to meet those expectations. She believes ALL of them deserve an opportunity to succeed. 

Secondary Teacher of the Year Finalist

Joseph Chen – Band Instructor, Elkins High School

Joseph Chen is an exceptional educator whose love of teaching was born while he was a Fort Bend ISD student.

He remembers how good he felt when Mrs. George in 3^rd grade at Drabek asked him to tutor other students. He remembers his 6^th grade science teacher Mr. Bennett at Sugar Land Middle School giving him the tools to become a better student and helping him with life skills. He's proud he and Mr. Bennett – who is now an assistant principal – are presently colleagues at Elkins.

Chen experienced a challenging time as a teenager when he became a dad at 15, but another great teacher was there to support and encourage him. It was his band director Mrs. Stevens at Kempner High School who helped him discover a joy for music that got him through difficult days. 

He is a proud and loving father to his 14-year-old daughter, who is now in the band at Kempner.

Chen believes his life-changing teachers allow him to help his students become the best possible version of themselves. In his band hall, students don’t just learn music, but also leadership, critical listening and teamwork.

Secondary Teacher of the Year Finalist

Erin Cole – 6th Grade Social Studies Teacher, Hodges Bend Middle School

Erin Cole’s desire to teach is rooted in early-life experiences. Two women inspired her with their excellence.

As a child, sometimes there would be no electricity or hot water at home. This made her realize students can face so many challenges at home that school becomes a place of security and well-being.

Her high school Latin instructor, Ms. Reed, "brought a dead language to life” by connecting it to the real world and making a point of knowing all her students.

Her other source of inspiration was her mother who came to work as a paraprofessional at her middle school. At first she was mortified, but then she saw how her mother treated every student with kindness and never judged a book by its cover.

The kindness and compassion demonstrated by her mother and Ms. Reed are the gifts Cole shares with her students. She greets them at the door, listens to them, lunches with them and teaches them how to disagree with others respectfully. 

Secondary Teacher of the Year Finalist

Monique Williams – Math teacher, M.R. Wood Center for Learning

Monique Williams is a veteran educator who has been a math coach at both the campus and district levels. Teaching in an alternative setting gives her the opportunity to connect with students from diverse backgrounds and help them overcome challenges so they can reach their full potential.

But that’s not how her journey began. When she was in college, she studied accounting. Midway through, however she realized her true calling was teaching math to young people.

Looking back, Williams said teaching was always a part of her - starting with her first job as a lifeguard. Plus, her parents and sisters are all P.E. teachers and coaches. She teaches Algebra 2 through Calculus.

WIlliams cultivates a supportive and inclusive environment in the classroom where students feel valued, respected and receive healthy amounts of encouragement. Her lessons are rigorous and relevant. She loves to see her students embrace challenges, learn from their mistakes and celebrate their progress.

Her key goal is to see her students succeed in the classroom – and beyond it. 

Secondary Teacher of the Year Finalist

Briana Portis – 8th Grade Science Teacher, Thornton Middle School

Initially, Briana Portis resisted the idea of teaching. After graduating from college, she took a position as a substitute teacher with the intentions of it being temporary -- but got hooked.

Every interaction with students filled her with a love of teaching. She earned her alternative certification and entered the classroom as a full-time educator.

She discovered teaching is about connection and about understanding each child as an individual. She loves the moments when a student’s eyes light up because a lesson finally clicks, or when she discovers a new way to reach a child who has been struggling to learn a concept.

Portis believes every student needs and deserves a teacher who believes in them and that educating children is a huge responsibility and a great privilege.

She may have tried to deny teaching was for her, but now she cannot imagine being anywhere else but the classroom. 

Elementary Principal of the Year

Wendy Durham, Madden Elementary

Principal Durham considers it a privilege to have spent her entire 29-year career in FBISD where she has served as a teacher, assistant principal, Director of Literacy and principal. 

Now in her 17th year as an elementary school principal, she remains deeply passionate about campus leadership. 

She says, “I love being a principal. I love leading the staff. I love watching the kids grow and learn. It’s not an easy job being a teacher or a principal but at the end of the day knowing we’ve made a difference makes it all worth it.”

Secondary Principal of the Year

Dr. Reginald Brown, Dulles Middle School

Dr. Brown has been an educator and leader for a total of 26 years, 18 of those years here in Fort Bend ISD.

At Dulles Middle School, the former professional football player encourages his students to demonstrate "above the line" behavior, which means being accountable, responsible and open to learning. 

He made it a priority to address his students first upon learning about his District Principal of the Year selection.

He told them, “When you live above the line and strive for excellence, good things happen—just as I’m experiencing with this award.”

Elementary Rookie Teacher of the Year

Alisha Maniece - Dulles Elementary

Elementary Rookie Teachers of the Year

Georgia Sparkman - Schiff Elementary 

Elementary Rookie Teacher of the Year

Anthony Encarnacion - Sullivan Elementary 

Secondary Rookie Teacher of the Year

Genesis Vazquez-Hernandez - Dulles High School

Secondary Rookie Teacher of the Year

Rachel Pringle - Sartartia Middle School

Secondary Rookie Teacher of the Year

Curry M. Porter - Thornton Middle School